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Hercules
Hercules (or Heracles) was the son of Zeus and half-brother to Kratos. As a mortal, he was tasked with 12 labors in order to gain redemption for the murder of his family. Being called to Olympus in order to defend it with the Gods, Hercules would consider it his 13th and final labor to rid Olympus of Kratos. Greek Mythology In Greek myth, Heracles was the demigod son of Zeus and a mortal woman named Alcmene, who is the granddaughter of Perseus. Heracles was blessed with unnatural strength from birth. He was outright hated by Zeus' wife, Hera, who drove him to madness as he grew into adulthood. This madness led him to commit the murder of his wife, Megara, and his two sons. Seeking atonement for his atrocious deed, the king Eurystheus assigned Heracles to perform ten labors, but cheated him into doing two more. Heracles, however, had finished all these labors (mainly using his wit) and found redemption. Heracles had many more adventures, but was ultimately killed by his own wife Deianara (albeit unintentionally), ascending to Olympus as he died. In the God of War Series Hercules is the ancestor of the Spartans, older half-brother of Kratos, and shares many similarities with him. Both warriors mercilessly killed their wife and children under the influence of gods (Hera for Hercules; Ares for Kratos), having been forced to serve Olympus for a number of years in order to hopefully gain redemption. Both are also demigods, being the sons of Zeus. Their rage is also uncontrollable, leading to moments where they become blinded by bloodlust. Some of Kratos' moves with the Blades of Chaos are named after Hercules (Spirit of Hercules, Valor of Hercules, and Might of Hercules). There is also a bonus costume of Hercules that can be unlocked in God of War II. In God of War III, Hercules is first seen taking orders from his father to attack the invading Titans. He then commands a group of undead soldiers to jump off Olympus and attack the Titans, landing on Gaia's arm to attack Kratos. When Kratos later encounters Hera in the Arena, she has Hercules fight Kratos as her champion. There, Hercules reveals how he believes Zeus considers Kratos his favorite as Kratos was the one assigned to kill Ares while Hercules was cleaning the Augean stables, and growing even more jealous when Kratos was being crowned the God of War, while Hercules was instructed to steal the Apples of the Hesperides. And although he was the one who killed the Nemean Lion, Zeus made Kratos' story more famous across the world. He then reveals how he plans to destroy Kratos as his thirteenth, unofficial and final labor, becoming the God of War himself. Kratos tries to reason with him, saying that Zeus has no favorites and that even though Hercules wants to be an Olympian, their reign will end, but Hercules does not listen. "We'll see about that." After Kratos kills all of his undead soldiers, Hercules decides to fight him himself using the Cestus. Kratos however, stabs him in the arm and takes the pair of Cestus one by one. Hercules then fights Kratos unarmed, saying this is a real challenge and after a long and fierce fight, Hercules lifted the floor of the arena making Kratos almost fall, but he uses the spikes on the Cestus to claw his way back up. Then he traps Hercules underneath the arena, brutally smashing his face in with the Cestus nineteen times, with the last blow smashing the arena's floor. Both Kratos and Hercules, the latter, now dead and gruesomely disfigured, tumble into the sewers below, where Kratos leaves his brother's body to rot. Before leaving, Kratos can take Hercules' shoulder guard. Powers and Abilities Hercules was considered the most powerful hero and Demigod in existence. His main and most important power was his vast vigorous strength, which most likely surpassed that of Kratos, being able to physically overpower him in their duel, and most notably having an attack where he attempts to crush him in a bear-hug. He was one of the strongest beings in the universe, as his strength rivaled that of the Titans themselves. He also possessed vast resistance, agility, endurance, regenerative capabilites, reflexes, senses, and courage. In his battle with Kratos, he was able to rip off huge pieces of the arena to use as projectiles, throw Kratos to the edge of the battleground with ease, and actually managed to lift the entire stone floor off the battleground before Kratos' final attack. The Nemean Cestus only increased his brute force and dexterity, allowing him to create powerful shock waves and a ttacks and send Kratos flying halfway across the arena with a single blow. After the loss of his Cestus, Hercules also displayed a degree of inhuman speed and accuracy, quickly dodging around Kratos in an attempt to throw him off balance. He also had an extreme degree of stamina and was partially immortal, due to being Zeus' demigod son. He also seemed to have authority over the minions of Olympus, directing them to attack their foes in masses. Relationships Kratos Kratos was Hercules' half-brother and arch-enemy. When Hercules was infected with the evil of envy released from Pandora's Box, he felt insatiable jealousy towards his brother, despising how Kratos was their father's perceived favorite. He was also jealous of Kratos being crowned the God of War, being sent to kill Ares while he was stuck doing his twelves labors, such as "cleaning" the Augean Stables and being sent to steal the Apples of Hesperides, and having his name renowned throughout the land while Hercules was not nearly as famous as his brother. During the Second Titan-God War, Hercules fought Kratos in the Forum on Hera's orders and tried to kill him. After a long and brutal battle, Hercules was slaughtered when Kratos took the Nemean Cestus and beat him to death. Zeus Zeus was Hercules' father. Hercules was completely loyal to Zeus, and was willing to give his life to serve him. In return, Zeus trusted Hercules very much, and gave him high authority over the armies of Olympus. Hercules was determined to stay in his father's favor, and so felt that he was looked down upon by Zeus while Kratos was crowned the God of War by the King of Olympus. Hercules led the armies of Olympus during the Second Titan-God War, but was killed by Kratos, a loss which Zeus showed little remorse for. This was his 13th and final labour to kill Kratos. Trivia * Hercules is voiced by Kevin Sorbo, who played the character in the television series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. * According to a special feature in God of War III, Hercules stands about 12 feet tall, and weighs more than 4000 pounds (1818 kg). * Hercules was originally going to appear in God of War II and was to be voiced by Cam Clarke, but due to time and budget, he was scrapped, even though the credits still listed Cam Clarke for the role. * Hercules had previously appeared in God of War II as a character skin for Kratos. * God of War III marks the third time Kratos killed an ancestor/older brother. Ares was the first and Perseus the second. * Hercules mentions he did two of his labors during God of War, but was by then already being worshiped as a god. He either died doing ten, or he was comparing his labors to Kratos', thus being jealous. It is also possible Hercules completed his labors at the same time Kratos was on his own quest. * By mentioning his labors, that means they're are more hydras that exist in Kratos' world then the one shown in the first God of War game. (His second laber consisted of killing a hydra.) * In God of War III, Hercules talks about his labors as if it were Zeus who assigned him those labors when in mythology his cousin, King Eurysutheus, was the one who assigned him the labors. Maybe, in his blind jealousy, he thought Eurysutheus was a messenger for Zeus. * Despite all the Olympians going by their Greek names, Hercules is identified by his Roman name rather than his Greek name, Heracles. The inconsistency of the regional naming was confirmed to be due to the fame and popularity attached to the Roman version of the name. Another Roman reference regarding him is in the design of his helmet, as more resembles the helmet used by a Centurion more than a Hoplite. * There is a distinct lion motif to Hercules' portrayal in God of War III: he considers his defeat of the Nemean Lion one of the only labors worthy of him, his helm resembles a lion's face (with the plume forming a mane), his shoulder guards resemble lion paws, his preferred weapons have lion's faces on them, and many of the attacks learned from said weapons evoke images of lions and beasts. * Hercules' jealousy of Kratos as Zeus' favorite son is quite ironic and contrary to current events, considering Kratos' ascension to God of War ended with Zeus stabbing his "favorite" in the stomach. * Hercules seems to have been infected by the negative emotion of jealousy, to the point of irrationality seeing how he so easily overlooked how much the bad outweighed the good in Kratos' life. Also he seems to hold a great deal of pride and arrogance, although he may have been entitled to this given his vast potential. * Additionally, Hercules' role as a champion of Hera is both fitting and ironic, as his Greek name, Heracles, translates to "Hera's pride", yet mythology states that Hera despised Heracles with extreme vigor, even for one of Zeus' illegitimate children. In fact, much of Heracles' story is a result of Hera's hatred of him. * The reason why Hera would have Hercules fight Kratos may have been spawned out of her hatred for both of them. By having them both fight one another, she was guaranteed that at least one of them would die. * Although this is Hercules' first physical appearance in the series, he and Kratos seem to know each other well, going so far as to address each other as "brother". When he first states his intentions, Kratos tries to reason with him rather than immediately kill him, hinting Kratos may have some respect for him due to their similarities. * Hercules is the great-grandson (and half-brother) of Perseus who was killed by Kratos in God of War II. But Hercules appeared physically after God of War II and at the beginning of God of War III for the first time. * Hercules is the Great-grandson of Perseus, even though there is not a long time difference between when Kratos killed Perseus in the God of War II and meeting Hercules in God of War III. * Hercules was murdered the same way Kratos was defeated by Deimos: being pounded on by a gauntlet while lying face-up defenselessly. Ironically, it was Deimos who did this to his brother, Kratos, and Kratos did it again to another one of his brothers: Hercules. * This Hercules is very similar to the character The Sovereign who is an alternate Hercules in The Legendary Journeys. He was also played by Kevin Sorbo. * There is a large, claw shaped scar on Hercules' chest which may have been inflicted by the Nemean Lion. * Similar to Kratos, the Hercules from real Greek mythology murdered his family out of madness, however, it was Hera who drove Hercules mad, not Ares. Related Pages * Demigod * Hercules (Costume) * Nemean Cestus * Nemean Lion * Heraklion Gallery 307wxg0.png 4585.JPG Death of hercules.jpg Hercules(?).jpg Hercules.JPG Hercules.jpg Hercules2.jpg Herculescostume-1-.jpg Nemeancestus-453x300.jpg hercules 1.jpg hercules 2.jpg hercules 3.jpg Hercules 3D.jpg Hecules 3d.jpg Heracles.jpg Video thumb|left|200px|Hercules' Encounter with Kratos Category:Characters Category:Demigods Category:Bosses Category:Enemies Category:God of War III Category:God of War II Category:God of War Series